Pirate: Crew of Desire and Bonds

Garrick’s expression then shifted.

The casual tone faded as he stepped forward and faced the group properly.

”Alright. That’s enough. Let’s begin the meeting.”

The deck fell silent.

”The reason I want to have a meeting today,” Garrick said, his voice turning serious,

”...is because in a few days, we will be crossing the Dead Sea Line.”

Jake stood among the gathered members, listening carefully as Garrick finished speaking.

The words ”Dead Sea Line” made him glance around as he sensed the sudden tension in the air.

He was a bit confused.

In his previous world, the Dead Sea was just a hypersaline lake in the Middle East... famous, but nothing that inspired this kind of heavy atmosphere.

Here, however, the way everyone had gone silent, the way even experienced members straightened their backs... it clearly meant something far more dangerous.

Jake leaned down slightly toward Grace, keeping his voice low.

”Grace... what’s the Dead Sea Line?” he whispered. ”Why does everyone look so serious about it?”

Grace turned her head toward him.

Her golden eyes still carried a trace of the earlier confidence, but now there was also a hint of caution in them.

She whispered back,

”It’s... not a normal stretch of sea, Jake. It’s a mysterious long line that appears on the ocean. Once you cross into that line, the water changes. The sky grows darker even during the day, and strange things start appearing. Ships that aren’t prepared... sometimes never come back. At least, that’s what I’ve learned.”

She paused, glancing around to make sure no one was paying attention to them.

”My teacher in the family used to say the Dead Sea Line is where the boundary between the normal world and the deeper ocean starts to thin... a true sea when it comes to danger. That’s why everyone is tense, because there are many strange things in those waters.”

Jake’s expression grew more serious as he absorbed her words.

A place where the boundary thinned...

No wonder Garrick had emphasized staying alert.

”Can’t we just avoid it? Is there another route?”

Grace shook her head slightly, her golden hair shifting with the motion.

”No,” she whispered back.

”It’s inevitable if you want to cross to the other sea. The Dead Sea Line stretches across the entire world, acting as a border that divides the current known Seven Seas.”

She glanced up at him, her voice soft but steady.

”Most ships that travel these waters have no choice. They either prepare properly and cross... or they don’t sail at all.”

Jake let out a quiet breath and nodded slowly.

So there was no way around it.

If they wanted to keep moving forward, they would have to face whatever waited in that line.

’So there are Seven Seas... and it seems the city we’re supposed to go to is actually in another sea, huh.’

He straightened up, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his new sword.

He hadn’t expected to voyage toward something so strange on only his second journey... but at the same time, he couldn’t help feeling a quiet sense of expectation for what was to come.

Beside him, Grace remained close, her presence quiet but reassuring.

She then smiled softly, her golden eyes carrying a quiet confidence as she looked up at him.

”We should be fine,” she whispered. ”Even though it’s dangerous... humans have managed to find ways to handle it. Otherwise, everyone would have been stuck on one side of the sea forever.”

She looked at the gathered members and Garrick, then continued.

”And humans are strong. As long as we stay careful and follow the caravan’s preparations, we should be able to cross safely. They’ve probably crossed it many times already.”

Jake looked at her for a moment, then let out a quiet breath and returned a small smile of his own.

”Yeah. You’re right,” he murmured.

Even though the Dead Sea Line sounded ominous, Jake knew that the humans of this world were not powerless.

They were class holders... people who could grow stronger, awaken skills, and face dangers that would have been impossible in his previous life.

That thought settled something in his chest as he smiled to himself.

After all, he was also one of those powerful humans now.

Even though he wasn’t sure of the full hierarchy of Classes yet, he had a feeling that... he was no longer someone who could simply be bullied.

He was even confident that if he were to face Julian again, he wouldn’t take a one-sided beating.

At the very least, Julian would probably lose... an arm trying to do so.

Why was he so confident?

Because right now, the world in his eyes seemed to have changed.

Jake looked at the people around him and noticed strange, faint lines appearing on their bodies.

It was Aura.

He could now see it clearly thanks to his new skill [Aura Perception].

The difference it made was enormous.

Before, he could only roughly sense someone’s presence or strength through instinct and experience.

Now, the flow of energy around each person was visible to him.

Thin, flickering lines of light ran along their limbs and torso... some bright and dense, others sparse and unstable.

Most of the regular members here had relatively thin auras... stable enough for daily work and basic combat, but nothing overwhelming.

A few of the more experienced adventurer carried denser, sharper flows that marked them as clearly stronger.

And then there was Garrick.

Even from a distance, the aura around the captain was thick and solid, like tempered steel.

It didn’t flare wildly, but it carried a quiet weight that made Jake instinctively cautious.

This was the real difference.

With Aura Perception, Jake could finally see the gap between people.

He could roughly judge who was strong, who was average, and who was hiding their power.

More importantly, he could now observe the flow of his own aura and, to some extent, control it more deliberately.

That was why his confidence had grown.

He was no longer swinging his sword in the dark, relying only on raw strength and desperation.

He could see the battlefield more clearly now... and where to strike, and how the energy flowed.

That alone was a massive advantage.

Jake then closed his eyes and murmured under his breath,

”So that’s why Julian was able to sense it even after I blinded his vision...”

The memory of that desperate fight flashed through his mind.

Back then, he had used Light Manifestation to create a blinding flash, completely cutting off Julian’s sight for a brief moment.

Yet even while unable to see, Julian had still reacted... blocking, countering, and nearly crushing him with overwhelming precision.

At the time, Jake had thought it was pure combat experience or some kind of instinct.

Now, with Aura Perception, he finally understood.

Julian hadn’t needed his eyes.

He had been reading the flow of Jake’s aura the entire time.

The faint lines of energy that leaked out with every movement, every shift in stance, every surge of killing intent... to someone who could perceive aura clearly, those signals were just as obvious as watching with open eyes.

Blinding him had only removed one layer of information.

The deeper sense remained.

Jake opened his eyes again, his gaze turning sharper.

That was the real gap between them.

Not just raw strength or technique... but the ability to see the battle on a higher level.

And now, that same ability was beginning to awaken in him.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

”Just you wait, Julian...” he muttered quietly. ”Next time, it won’t be so one-sided.”

Beside him, Grace glanced over, sensing the shift in his mood, but she didn’t interrupt.

She simply stayed close, her presence quiet and steady.

Around them, the remaining members of the caravan began dispersing from the meeting.

Some headed toward the lower decks to check supplies, while others moved to their assigned posts.

The earlier tension had not disappeared, but it had transformed into a quieter, more focused readiness.

Garrick approached them a moment later.

”You two,” he said, glancing between Jake and Grace.

”Your first patrol shift starts tomorrow at dawn. Until then, rest properly and get familiar with your new gear. Once we enter the waters near the Dead Sea Line, there won’t be much time for adjustments.”

Jake nodded.

”Understood.”

Garrick gave them a brief look of approval before turning away to speak with another group.

Left alone again, Jake glanced down at Grace.

”Looks like things are about to get serious.”

Grace met his gaze and smiled faintly, her fingers brushing lightly against the grip of one of her pistols.

”Then we’ll just have to be ready,” she said softly. ”Together.”

Jake’s lips curved into a small smile.

”Yeah... together.”

The sea breeze drifted across the deck, carrying with it the distant scent of salt and something faintly heavier... as if the ocean itself was already beginning to change.

Ahead of them waited the Dead Sea Line.

And beyond it, the rest of the new world lay waiting for them.